'Restoring Ganga's glory ministry's top agenda'

Restoring Ganga's glory and tapping its potential as an internal transport mode along with "full transparency" in ministry's functioning lie top on the agenda of Nitin Jairam Gadkari, who assumed charge of Road Transport & Highways and Shipping Ministry on Thursday.

"It is my dream to restore sacred Ganga's glory and utilise this ancient river's full potential by using it as a waterway from Gangotri to Kanpur and Kanpur to Patna to transport cargo and man," Gadkari told PTI after taking charge of the crucial infrastructure ministries.

He said, "I will soon hold a meeting with key officials of the ministry to chart out ways for transforming this ancient river into a mode for cargo and public transport. We will assess the possibilities of dredging and other measures." Cleanliness of Ganga has been in our manifesto, he added.

The former BJP President, who is known for his passion for infrastructure segment said he has been entrusted with a huge task of overhauling the sector and "fortunately" has a grasp over toll, highways and other issues.

"There will be no hanky-panky business here. There will be full transparency, full accountability and e-governance," he said, adding that there would be no "favouritism and nepotism".

Turning nostalgic, he said he had come to the Transport Minister's chamber for the first time in 1997 for the country's first road project on build, operate and transfer (BOT).

"Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had entrusted me with two challenging tasks - linking villages under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna (PMGSY) and converting National Highways into four-lanes. My report on these were approved within a fortnight by former President APJ Abdul Kalam," he said, adding that it would be his commitment to "develop" the sector.

Earlier, addressing media he said he had expertise in building flyovers and highways and would work for the growth of the sector.

He said developing agriculture, water, power and communication sectors were needed for creation of employment and the industry too played a pivotal role in creating employment.

Known as an able administrator with innovative approaches in infrastructure space, he faces the challenges of reviving the road and shipping sectors where bidders have been shying away from projects and a mammoth task of capacity building lies ahead.

The highways sector is battling a score of issues amid stalled projects worth at least Rs 1.5 lakh crore on account of various regulatory hurdles and premium issues.